1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a portable terminal device, and a displaying method for the portable terminal device. More particularly, the present invention relates to a wireless portable terminal device having a folding structure that permits a first housing and a second housing to turn on a hinge, and a displaying method and a program for the wireless portable terminal device.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, portable telephone terminals and wireless portable terminals have had a mail message transmitting/receiving feature and a browser. In order to make the most of the features, more and more terminals have rapidly come to include a large-color screen display device. A folding terminal has become a mainstream of terminals having a large-screen display device mounted therein.
FIGS. 1A and 1B show the appearance of a wireless portable terminal having a folding structure. FIG. 1A shows the appearance with the folding terminal left open, FIG. 1B shows the appearance with the folding terminal closed. Referring to FIG. 1A, the folding wireless portable terminal has the folding structure permitting a body 1 that is a first housing and a cover 2 that is a second housing to turn on a hinge 3. With the hinge 3 as an axis, the terminal can be folded or unfolded in directions of arrows in FIG. 1A. An antenna 4 transmits or receives a radio wave. The body 1 includes an operator panel 5 that is an input means which the user of the terminal maneuvers. The cover 2 includes a first display device 6 that is a main display means of the terminal.
When the folding wireless portable terminal is folded, the display device 6 is opposed to the body 1 and located internally of the terminal. The user of the terminal cannot therefore check the contents of a presentation displayed on the display screen of the display device 6. A terminal having a second display device mounted on the outer surface of the folded terminal has made its debut so as to help the user of the terminal check necessary minimal information with the terminal folded.
Referring to FIG. 1B, the folding wireless portable terminal has a second display device 7 mounted as an auxiliary display means on a surface opposite to the surface of the cover 2 on which the first display device 6 is mounted. With the folding terminal closed, the second display device 7 has the ability to help the user check necessary minimal information alone. Moreover, with the folding terminal left open, the presenting action of the second display device 7 is generally disabled for the reason that the user has difficulty in checking the contents of a presentation displayed on the second display device 7 or for the purpose of extending the service life of a battery even slightly.
The necessary minimal information to be displayed on the second display device 7 includes a remaining battery capacity, a presentation of whether the present place is inside or outside a communication-enabled zone, and a mail message termination presentation “New Mail Terminated” signifying that a mail message has been terminated. If the terminal is a portable telephone terminal, a voice termination presentation “Call Terminated” indicating that voice has been terminated is also included.
However, when the wireless portable terminal having the folding structure has received a mail message, if “New Mail Terminated” is displayed on the second display device 7, the user cannot find the contents of the received mail message. In order to check the contents of the newly received mail message, the user has to perform a maneuver of opening the terminal, and a maneuver of designating the received mail message to thus display the contents of the mail message on the first display device 6. This is labor-intensive. There is a possibility that the contents of the mail message read by performing the maneuvers may not be the contents of the mail message the user wants to check immediately.